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Bargaining Power and Enforcement in Credit Markets

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Abstract

In a credit market with enforcement constraints, we study the effects of a change in the outside options of a potential defaulter on the terms of the credit contract, as well as on borrower payoffs. The results crucially depend on the allocation of "bargaining power" between the borrower and the lender. We prove that there is a crucial threshold of relative weights such that if the borrower has power that exceeds this threshold, her expected utility must go up whenever her outside options come down. But if the borrower has less power than this threshold, her expected payoff must come down with her outside options. In the former case a deterioration in outside options brought about, say, by better enforcement, must create a Lorenz improvement in state-contingent consumption. In particular, borrower consumption rises in all "bad" states in which loans are taken. In the latter case, in contrast, the borrower's consumption must decline, at least for all the bad states. These disparate findings within a single model permit us to interpret existing literature on credit markets in a unified way.

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  • Garance Genicot (Georgetown University) and Debraj Ray (New York University), 2005. "Bargaining Power and Enforcement in Credit Markets," Working Papers gueconwpa~05-05-09, Georgetown University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:geo:guwopa:gueconwpa~05-05-09
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    Cited by:

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    2. Li Sanxi & Xiao Hao & Yao Dongmin, 2013. "Contract Bargaining with a Risk-Averse Agent," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 285-301, November.
    3. Jonathan de Quidt & Thiemo Fetzer & Maitreesh Ghatak, 2018. "Market Structure and Borrower Welfare in Microfinance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(610), pages 1019-1046, May.
    4. Madestam, Andreas, 2014. "Informal finance: A theory of moneylenders," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 157-174.
    5. Jonathan DE QUIDT & Maitreesh GHATAK, 2018. "Is The Credit Worth It? For-Profit Lenders In Microfinance With Rational And Behavioral Borrowers," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(1), pages 175-199, March.
    6. repec:lic:licosd:18407 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Jonathan de Quidt & Thiemo Fetzer & Maitreesh Ghatak, 2018. "Market Structure and Borrower Welfare in Microfinance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(610), pages 1019-1046, May.
    8. repec:bla:annpce:v:89:y:2018:i:1:p:175-199 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. David A. Miller & Joel Watson, 2013. "A Theory of Disagreement in Repeated Games With Bargaining," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(6), pages 2303-2350, November.
    10. Caroline Flammer, 2011. "The Role Of Family Ties For The Optimal Design Of Human Capital Contracts," International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 4(2), pages 1-22.
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    12. Subramanian, Arjunan & Kumar, Parmod, 2024. "Property rights, factor allocation and household welfare: Experimental evidence from a land titling program in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    13. Ulf von Lilienfeld-Toal & Dilip Mookherjee, 2010. "The Political Economy of Debt Bondage," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 44-84, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    credit; no commitment; enforcement; bargaining power;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • G19 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Other

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